HBO issued a statement Sunday night in response to an organized Twitter protest against the networks planned alternate-history slavery drama from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and writer-producers Nichelle Tramble Spellman (Justified) and Malcolm Spellman (Empire).
We have great respect for the dialogue and concern being expressed around Confederate, the network said in a statement. We have faith that Nichelle, Dan, David, and Malcolm will approach the subject with care and sensitivity. The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see.
As hit series Game of Thrones aired on Sunday evening, the hashtag #NoConfederate trended globally on Twitter. We believe the time to speak up is now before the show has been written or cast. Before @hbo invests too much money into #Confederate, activist April Reign, one of a group of women who started the campaign, wrote on Twitter last week. This Sunday at 9 p.m. ET, during @GameOfThrones, we ask you to stand with us. We want to send a message to @hbo using hashtag #NoConfederate. (Reign launched #OscarsSoWhite in 2015 after the Academy Awards nominated an all-white slate of acting nominees.)
